RES|FEST is a free evening of pop-up talks, performances and activities that celebrates research in art history, curation and conservation.
Launched in 2017 at The Courtauld Institute of Art and The Courtauld Gallery, RES|FEST has welcomed a diverse and talented array of individuals from a variety disciplines to demonstrate why culture matters.
On this page, you can revisit previous RES|FEST events including filmed talks, performances and programmes.
RES|FEST x DUNDEE
On Friday the 29th of November, 19.00 – 22.00, lighting talks, spoken word and musical performances filled V&A Dundee with life. Iconic works housed in the Courtauld Collection were reimagined through Rujazzle’s installation ‘Queering the Canon’ and a special access curator’s tour of Hello, Robot gave a behind the scenes look at Dundee’s latest blockbuster exhibition.
On Saturday the 30th of November, 12.00 – 16.00, we invited families to take part in a range of workshops, pop-up tours and ‘in discussion’ sessions between representatives from The Courtauld Institute of Art and those based at V&A Dundee.
This was the first time we held RESFEST at V&A Dundee and you can catch up on many of the talks via our dedicated playlist:
You can also download the RESFEST x Dundee programme
RES|FEST 19
On 26 April 2019, The Courtauld Institute of Art hosted RES|FEST 19 – a free festival of art historical research!
RES|FEST 19 was an action-packed evening of pop-up talks, performances and making activities that explored art and its history.
We invited you to curate your own evening – to drop in to lightning talks, interactive activities and performances led by art world professionals, academics, creative influencers and performers.
We also planned a fabulous self-care haven where you could get a manicure, haircut and temporary tattoo.
In addition to all of this, pop-up bars and yummy food trucks kept our guests refreshed outside in our courtyard.
You can catch up on many of our talks on our dedicated YouTube playlist:
You can also download the RES|FEST 2019 programme
RES|FEST x BELFAST
On 25 October 2018, The Courtauld Institute of Art will co-host RES|FEST x Belfast – a FREE festival of art historical research at The Ulster Museum.
This is an action-packed evening of lightning talks and performances that celebrate artists, art history, curating and conservation. With events spilling across the Ulster Museum, RES|FEST x Belfast sets out to celebrate the historic connections and links between The Courtauld and Northern Ireland, the location of eight Courtaulds Ltd factories after the Second World War. Coinciding with The Courtauld Gallery’s loan of Amedeo Modigliani’s Female Nude (c.1916) to the Ulster Museum, RES|FEST x Belfast is committed to making art history and visual culture studies public: advocating for and contributing to thinking about how aesthetics fundamentally shape our everyday lives, as well as the importance and urgency of continuing to develop visual literacy and critical thinking in today’s world.
As RES|FEST x Belfast unfolds throughout the Ulster Museum, visitors will be able to drop in for talks led by art world professionals, academics, curators, conservators from Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Newcastle and London. Northern Irish poets will perform new pieces of work made in response to the Ulster Museum’s collection, which stretches from the Renaissance to the 20th century and beyond – from Peter Breughel the Younger to Francis Bacon, and J.M.W. Turner to Willie Doherty.
You can catch up on many of the talks on our dedicated YouTube playlist:
You can see the full programme here!
RES|FEST 18
RES|FEST x London happened at The Courtauld Gallery and The Courtauld Institute of Art after hours on Wednesday 25 April 2018.
Featuring pop-up lightning talks and spoken word performances audiences were invited to curate their own evening!
You can catch up on many of the talks on our dedicated YouTube playlist:
You can also find out more in the RES|FEST 18 programme
RES|FEST 17
RES|FEST 2017 happened at The Courtauld Gallery and The Courtauld Institute of Art after hours on Wednesday 15 March 2017.
Featuring an eclectic mix of talks, demonstrations and tours the evening invited visitors to discover how art can be a form of politics outside politics; to ask why food matters to art history and what art history’s digital future holds; plus much more!
You can watch any of the talks on our dedicated YouTube playlist:
You can also find out more in the RES|FEST 17 programme